Photo: Getty Images
A dinosaur-like species that was discovered in Arizona now has a new name, 12 News reported. The ancient reptile has been named after the former superintendent of Petrified Forest National Park, Brad Traver. The species was renamed traverorum.
The species was first discovered in 2014 in the Blue Mesa area. The fossil elements are estimated to be around 20 million years old and according to their size and shape, they resembled Komodo dragons.
Traver served as the superintendent of Petrified Forest National Park as well as other national parks throughout the state.
The traverorum fossils were found alongside fossils of early dinosaurs, but the species would not be categorized as a dinosaur. The species is considered member of a late-surviving group of allokotosaurs, according to an article published in the Journal of Paleontology. Allokotosaurs are a reptiles that lived in North America, Europe, and Africa during the Middle to Late Triassic periods.